Three men who intervened to stop football fans fighting on a packed train have been commended by a judge.

The brave passengers formed a barrier between rival supporters as they clashed following a game in the North-East last season.

Trouble flared on a Virgin service to Birmingham last September when fans from West Bromwich Albion attacked three Newcastle United-supporting passengers as the train approached Darlington.

Details of the fracas emerged at a hearing at Teesside Crown Court today when Magpies fan Marc Waters was in the dock accused of affray.

Jobless Waters, 31, of Quenby Road, Billingham, Teesside, reacted to being attacked by thugs from the Midlands by gesticulating and throwing one punch in retaliation.

Waters denied affray but pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour which was likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

Judge Anthony Briggs accepted father-of-four Waters had been provoked, and that the travelling West Brom fans - who had just seen their team beaten 3-1 - were the aggressors.

Others involved in the fighting were dealt with at Darlington Magistrates' Court and were each fined £100 with £50 costs and were banned from attending football matches for three years.

Judge Briggs described the case as "unusual" and insisted all the trouble-makers should have been dealt with at crown court, so was prepared to show leniency to Waters, whom he gave a 12-month conditional discharge.

He said: "I don't wish the public to get the impression that anyone involved in violence on a train is automatically dealt with leniently. Any disturbance on a train is a highly dangerous and serious matter."

Judge Briggs ordered that passengers Stephen Haveron, Ian Maxted and Tom Harbord should be awarded £100 from public funds for their intervention in the fighting.

He said: "I don't think I should leave this case without making some public acknowledgement of the three people on the train who, unlike many these days, were prepared to prepared to get involved and stop matters escalating.

"They acted in a responsible, indeed courageous, fashion in intervening, and acted as some form of barrier between the potentially warring parties."